Doctor, Doctor
by stardate64783
Summary: Dr. Sandra Linh has been assigned as the ship's psychologist. Life, love, and the insanity of Captain James T. Kirk ensues.
1. Chapter 1

**Introductions should be made**  
The day she beamed aboard the (in)famous U.S.S. Enterprise, the senior officers were there to greet her. She met the gaze of the whispered legends around Starfleet. Dr. Leonard McCoy, Captain James T. Kirk, Commander Spock. At the panel sat Montgomery Scott with a large smile.

"Dr. Linh, I presume? Welcome to the U.S.S. Enterprise." Kirk flashed a smile and reached out to her. She politely shook his hand. "Can I tell you how honored we feel having you here to relieve Bones of some of his duties?"

She looked at the disheveled looking doctor for a minute. "Last thing you need to do is kiss up to me with fake formalities." she muttered. "Just show me my quarters and my office and you can get back to killing yourselves."

Spock's eyebrow perked. "A most astute observation considering you've been on board for a total of 5 minutes and 23 seconds." he remarked.

"I've gone over your files briefly when Admiral Pike approached me with the post." She looked at the captain square in the eye. "No one's crazy enough to jump on board with Jim Kirk. Hero status notwithstanding." Sandra sighed. Really. No one wanted to get on and STAY on the Enterprise. Everyone just wanted in the crews' pants. Speaking of which...

The commander was staring at hers.

"Is there a problem, Commander Spock?"

"You're defying Starfleet uniform regulations." he replied.

"That I am."

"I would like to inquire why you are doing so."

"I'd rather not flash people, Commander. Least of all Captain Manwhore." she quipped. "Now are we going to hang out in the transporter all day or am I going to be shown places?"

The doctor gave a short bark of a laugh. "I like her already!"

"Of course, Ensign Richards will show you to your quarters and later on, your office." the captain replied. "And...really? Captain Manwhore?"

"If only you knew." she replied before following the red shirt out of the room.

Her quarters were small, sparse. Sitting room, bedroom, bathroom. It worked for her. When she walked over to her would be office, she realized that it was as if they had sectioned off an exam room from sick bay. There was a desk, a chair, and a rather comfortable looking couch. Picking up a PADD, she sat down in her chair and began to review the profiles of those on board.

She snorted after glancing at a few. "Of course. They're all geniuses." Sandra twirled the stylus in her fingers. The chime rang. "Come."

A curious head covered in curls poked in. "Dr. Linh, da?" he called out.

"Yes." Sandra looked down at her PADD, cycling through the profiles before the picture matched the man in her office. "Ensign Chekov?"

A bright smile crossed his features and he fully entered the room. "You have office hours now, yes?" he asked.

She motioned him to the couch. "Yup. Always here."

_Patient 001: T'Plhlo_  
Apparently, they were due course for New Vulcan. Vulcans were experts at keeping their emotions away from all eyes. So Sandra was shocked when she saw a woman with a blank expression and pointed ears stand outside her office. "May I help you?" she offered.

The woman turned towards her. "I understand you are the psychologist on board."

"Yes? I'm Dr. Sandra Linh." The woman gave her a once over, as if not believing the smaller woman. "Well if you're going to stand there all day, by all means, do so." With that, she brushed past the stoic woman and walked into her shoebox of an office.

The woman followed her and sat primly on the couch. "I am called T'Plhlo. I also understand that there is a verbal patient/doctor confidentiality contract."

"Yes there is." Sandra replied. "Is there something I can help you with, T'Phlooloo?"

"T'Plhlo."

They sat in silence.

"I lost my child on Vulcan. I believe my meditation practices have not sufficed in purging the...separation."

"I see." Sandra leaned back in her chair. "Lock doors. Soundproof." She watched as T'Plhlo's eyebrow raised slightly. "No one can enter this room without the proper emergency code. No one will be able to hear anything. As a part of doctor/patient confidentiality, I will not divulge the details of this session without your expressed permission."

T'Plhlo nodded. Sandra patiently waited. "He was my son." she whispered steadily. "My mate had gone to retrieve him from the children education center." And for hours, it was like that. Sandra sat quietly as her patient laid on the couch. Her face and body betrayed no emotion. Vulcans didn't cry.

When Captain Kirk's voice filtered over the speaker in her office, T'Plhlo was already refreshed.

Sandra had no idea when she had actually had dozed off. It was at the insistent chiming when she snorted uncharacteristically and bolted up in her seat. Stoic, depressed Vulcans were extremely draining. She rubbed her face. "Enter." she called out.

"Hello, Doctor! Is me!" crowed Chekov. "I bring bread and cheese for you." He set the platter on her desk and sat down on a stool. "We talk."

She groaned and rubbed her face some more. "Time 'sit?" Looking over at her chronometer, she narrowed her eyes. "Don't you normally get the gamma shift? And isn't it nearly," she yawned. "alpha shift anyway?"

"Just got off." He sliced off a piece of bread and set a square of cheese on top of it. "We talk, yes?"

She gratefully accepted the offering. "What can I do for you, Mr. Chekov?"

"No no no." he replied with his mouth full. "You call me Pavel."


	2. Chapter 2

It had been a relatively quiet few weeks since Sandra had beamed aboard. And already, Dr. McCoy had screamed and berated her on a daily basis.  
_  
"You're stealing my goddamn patients!"_

"Well the damn reason why they sent me to this tin can is BECAUSE you had too many goddamn patients!"  
  
And they weren't pretty. Granted, it was because she was kind of stepping in his territory but hell...even the admiralty thought the CMO was working too hard. It was mostly by drop-in appointments since everyone had their own shifts to cover. And she mostly dealt with homesick ensigns. Or those who still had nightmares of the Narada incident. There were also weekly meetings that somehow turned into daily meetings with Ensign Chekov. If only to share a snack as he happened to stop by often. She often liked to chat with the young man. He was incredibly bright and had an endless supply of energy.

If she wasn't in her office, she was stumbling towards her cabins. Any sleep was usually taken away by some video conference with particularly shy officers. Or extremely busy nurses.

_Patient 117: Chapel, Christine_  
The first red alert that ever sounded while she was on board was on her way to her office after 3 solid hours of rest. Sandra was whistling happily as she looked through a few patient profiles when the entire ship shook. It threw her onto the ground as well as a few ensigns from engineering. She watched as the red shirts got up and scrambled to their stations.

She was particularly shocked to see a gold shirt bolt pass her with a shout of "Hi, Doctor Sandy!"

Panic and the air of urgency quickly permeated the hallways. Sandra straightened herself up and bolted the rest of the way towards sick bay. Dr. McCoy was barking orders as usual as his underlings scrambled to aid the fallen and bloodied engineering ensigns.

"Damnit, Linh, if you're gonna stand there and gawk, I'd suggest you pick a different time!" shouted the CMO. "Otherwise, give Chapel a hand!"

Sandra rolled her eyes and trailed after the blonde woman. "Chapel, the crazies have been put on hold so I can give you a hand. What do you need?"

The frazzled nurse looked up at her. "Perfect! Sandy, could you please keep company those who haven't been treated yet? I read in a med journal that easing psychological shock would keep them hanging on a bit. Thanks!" With that, the blonde ran off arms full of hyposprays.

Sandra rolled her eyes. She really wished the people on board would stop calling her Sandy. Quickly, she went to work on a few ensigns. While talking, she used gauze and pads to put pressure on wounds and hold cut skin together before they were whisked away by a nurse or doctor.

Everyone had their hands full when an ensign was rolled in with a popped shoulder followed by others with broken bones and things sticking out of them. Sandra looked over to see McCoy perform some kind of complicated surgery. The rest of the doctors were fixing broken body parts and the nurses still grafting skin.

First aid training and basic medic classes were thanked many times over as she began to talk with the patients. Asking what happened, how did they feel, if they could tell her what their childhood's pet's name was. While they prattled on about Fido and G'rnnnog, Sandra went about securing the fragments that stuck out of bodies and set bones with makeshift splints.

"Yeah? And what's it like growing up on Yavin IV?" she asked as she was wrapping gauze around a leg while pinching the bridge of a bloody nose to stop the bleeding. "Nguyen! Got another one for you!" she shouted into the sick bay. The chaos ensued for a few more hours before everyone was bandaged and resting.

Sandra collapsed on a chair in the temporary waiting room after scrubbing up. She groaned and rubbed her eyes. "I'm a psychologist, damnit, not a doctor."

"Well then, you won't mind if I sat down with you, would you?" called out a sweet voice. Sandra opened her eyes to see Christine Chapel sitting on a stool near her. She nodded towards the other exhausted looking doctors. "I'm willing to bet they could use someone to talk to as well."

Sandra sighed. "Ok, I'll make my rounds after you. What's the matter? McCoy being too much of an asshole?" She laughed and quickly quieted when she saw Chapel set her lips into a thin line. "Ok, what's going on?" The head nurse didn't say anything. "Christine?"

"I got the wave the other day that my fiance's corpse was found floating near Exo III." she whispered. "His ship never made it there. They were attacked and torn apart." She put her face in her hands and Sandra just listened. "He...they had his pictures all over the news." A sob escaped her. "And really, I just keep working to not think about it. Taking on all sorts of shifts. And I know I'm running my body ragged. I just..."

"Shh, shh, shh...it's ok. Let it out." Sandra put a hand on Christine's shoulder. The woman looked at her before throwing herself at Sandra. "You're right, you're going to run yourself ragged. You need to take some time off to properly grieve. How about you not take a million shifts for once?"

"I can't...I can't spend it alone." Christine hiccupped. "I don't want to be alone."

"It's ok, we're all here for you and I'm sure they'll let you send a wave to his family." She patted the nurse's back. "I'll sign you off for leave if Dr. McCoy won't. Because if you keep this up, you'll hit yourself with mental exhaustion and you will have no choice to go anyway."

"But..."

"McCoy will understand as will the rest of the crew." She waited as Christine weighed her options. Finally, she nodded and smiled. "All right, one down, lots more to go. Yay trauma."

Christine laughed and Sandra gave her another hug before going after the patients. Each one faced their own interpretation of the trauma. Klingons had apparently decided to torpedo the ship possibly out of sheer boredom.

Finally, she approached Dr. McCoy. When she found him, he was asleep at his desk with PADDs strewn all over it. She shook her head and left the office.

Sandra yawned as she exited the sick bay. Exhaustion finally caught up with her. She stumbled towards her own offices. Damn, the 3 hours didn't do her any good. Her stride was slowing down. When did the hallway start to sway?

Gold shirts came around the corner, chattering amicably. "Doctor Sandy!" cried out a cheerful voice.

"Hi Pavel." she smiled weakly. At least...she thought she did. She wasn't sure.

When Sandra woke up, she was back in sick bay. She batted the tricorder away from her face. "I'm fine."

"I don't believe it when Jim says it so what makes you think I'm going to believe you?"

Sandra sat up, nearly headbutting McCoy. "Because I don't throw myself into danger every other week." Vertigo hit and she was back down on the biobed. "What happened?"

"Serves you right for being awake for the past 3 weeks with a little over 10 hours of sleep." McCoy growled. He perked an eyebrow at her. "Care to explain to me _why_?"

"I've got patients just like you do and they, too, require me to be available 24/7."

"I'm ordering bedrest, doctor. For at least 4 days." McCoy poked at his PADD to retrieve her file. "You're damned lucky Chekov was around to drag you here."

"Four days?! I've got patients!" His eyes widened in shock. "What now?"

"You're a goddamn Betazoid?!"

Sandra rolled her eyes. "Here we go." She pinched the bridge of her nose, headache already forming. "I'd rather not talk about it. It's a thing. Don't worry about it. Just clear me and I'll get back to work."

He glared at her. "Like hell." He scribbled down his sentence. "Mandatory bed rest for Dr. Linh. Ensign, take her to her room."

Sandra was surprised when she saw Pavel bounce into the exam section. He looked relieved that she was awake. "Doctor Sandra! You're ok!" He threw his arms around her and squeezed. "I was worried." He half dragged her to her rooms. "You should not do that. Is not healthy. You will see Doctor McCoy more often." She listened to him prattle. "When I cannot sleep, I write equations."

"It isn't I cannot sleep, Pavel, it's I gotta take care of others." Why did she feel so heavy?

"You sound like Doctor McCoy." Pavel grinned. She keyed in the code to open up her quarters. He walked in with her and set her down on the bed. "He say I stay with you. Make sure you sleep."

She smiled. "Thanks, Pavel."


	3. Chapter 3

Sandra stepped into the bowels of the engine room. "Mr. Scott!" she called out. "I heard you've got some medicinal supplies down here!"

"Scotty's made a sandwich run." replied a voice. A taller woman with the red starfleet tunic and trousers rounded a corner, typing away at a PADD. "He'll be back around...10 minutes ago." Her dark hair was piled into a messy bun. She finally looked up. "Oh! Dr. Linh! What're you doing down here?" One of the pipes groaned and hissed out steam. "It's wicked muggy. Wouldn't think a doc would make it." She grinned. "Oh. Well. Except for emergencies."

"Just coming down to check on my patients, Lt. Young." Sandra smiled. She looked around at the skeleton crew. "How many this time?"

"4."

"So the redshirt rumor isn't just a rumor?" Shelley snorted and pulled out a few chairs. Sandra sat down as Shelley pulled out a bottle of the scotch and poured a few glasses.

"As great as Scotty is, he still can't replicate a good margarita." the engineer sighed as she knocked back the shot.

"We should get some next time we're on shore leave." Sandra replied. "Girls night out. This damn ship is a sausage fest anyway." Shelley snorted. "I'm serious. We could get Rand, Chapel, Uhura."

"You know me, Sandy. I don't do the barhopping you kids do." She poured more amber liquid into her cup and stared at it.

"You joined Starfleet to get away from _him_. While the distraction certainly helps, it won't really solve the problem."

Shelley scowled. "And what's gonna solve my problem?"

"You need to get laid." Sandra replied as she threw back her shot. "Tell you what, why don't I set you up with McCoy? He seems to know how to treat a lady right."

"I don't think so."

"Sulu? Riley? Jones? What about Ming? Or Pak?" When Shelley didn't budge, Sandra slammed her glass down in anger. "Damnit, woman, you can't spend your whole tour pining over him!" Her friend sat in silence.

"You didn't know him, doc--"

"I know him plenty!" Sandra snapped back. "You think about him all the time. If he loves you still. If he found someone better. If you'll be miserable and alone for the rest of your life."

"Maybe since he knows I'm on the Enterprise now, he'll--"

"No."

"Can I send him a birthday wave?"

"No, Shelley."

The other woman's lips twisted in concentration. "E-card?"

"No." Sandra crossed her arms. "He won't see the smoke signal from this quadrant; that's an archaic form of messaging; and pigeons would freeze in space." Shelley poured and downed another shot. Sandra sighed. "I can't make you forget him. But I can prescribe things to help you get over him."

The engineer snorted. "By getting drunk and having one night stands? I don't think so." She swirled the amber liquid in her glass gracefully. "I never was that kind of girl at the Academy."

And idea struck Sandra. "We're landing on New Vulcan in a few days. Usual supply run. You should go see the culture."

Shelley stared at her. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and stood up. "I've got work to do."

Sandra got up and left engineering. When she settled back in her own office, she sent a call out to the first officer. "Linh to Commander Spock."

"Spock here."

"Commander, is there a party assembled for New Vulcan?"

"No landing party is necessary. The captain has scheduled shore leave for a week." There was a pause. "May I query as to why you have asked the itinerary for New Vulcan?"

"Oh...no reason. Linh out." She propped her feet up on her desk and activated the 3d sudoku project on her PADD with a smile. Shore leave was going to be interesting.

"Hi, Doctor Sandy!" chirped a voice. "


	4. Chapter 4

_Patient 646: Kirk, James T_  
"So Bones thinks that I can persuade you to get some actual bedrest." Sandra sighed before the doors even opened. She lowered her head onto her desk when the captain's voice filtered into her office. "Pretty sneaky of you to trick cute, little Chekov."

"He hates it when you refer to him as something cute or little." she replied, her voice muffled. She turned to glare at him. "I didn't trick him. He went to his bridge shift and I just so happened to not stay in my room."

"Better watch out or he'll find a way to program the ship to lock you in your room."

"He did. I broke the code." Sandra replied. "Now are you going to let me do my work or are you going to bother me?"

He plopped down on the couch. "I've got time on my hands. Go ahead." he grinned. "Analyze me, doc."

"Captain, there is little I can say that Dr. McCoy couldn't tell you." she replied. "You're a goddamn adrenaline junkie who has daddy issues."

"Jeeze, cut to the heart." the captain chuckled. "Come on, anything else?"

"You want a head exam, go see McCoy. He seems to specialize in you seeing as how often you wind up in sick bay." She looked over the damage reports. "You really don't get it. You're so busy looking out for everyone else on the damn ship, you miss out on what it's right in front of you." She froze when he laughed. "It's not about proving to daddy in whatever afterlife that you're capable of doing things and for him to be proud. It's not about proving to Pike because you would've been done already or gone on to admiralship."

"Hey, I didn't do this because of my father or Pike."

She snorted. "Yeah, right. Tell me you don't constantly seek approval from McCoy or Spock." He turned his lips into a line and stared at the floor. "You seek daddy approval in both men. You're a bit better now than you were back at the academy simply because you have found your place." His blue gaze finally looked up at her, rage burning. "I saw the ceremony, captain. When you all returned from the Battle for Earth. My patient was absolutely itching. She was thrilled to see her son up to relieve Admiral Pike."

He froze. "My mom was your patient?"

"Yeah. I was a masters student when she first contacted me. She had heard that my thesis was on the grieving process and its role in Starfleet."

"God, did _everyone_ study my parents?"

"Nope. Your mom came to me. Pike studied your dad and the U.S.S. Kelvin." She set her stylus down and leaned on her hands, staring him down. "There are people who have seen you as the golden child because of what happened. Your mom was proud because you were her little boy and managed not to get yourself killed in saving Earth. She was crying and beside herself during the ceremony."

"I'm failing to see how any of this really is supposed to help me." He moved to get up.

"You are doing the right thing. Wave your mom. She'll tell you that she's so proud. Maybe not in so many words but watch her carefully."

"She's that proud?"

Sandra sat back again. "You're mostly settled, captain. No matter what McCoy says. You're pretty settled. Something about you being in the captain's seat is just right."

Kirk stood at the door. "You haven't been talking to Spock Prime, have you?"

Confusion appeared on her face. "Spock who?"

He shook his head and gave her a dazzling smile. "I'll tell Chekov not to worry so much." Kirk winked at her as the doors slid open. "Oh and thanks for giving us a hand with sick bay!" He disappeared from sight and the last she heard of him that day was, "Hey Bones!"

Sandra rolled her eyes. "Little boys, the whole bunch of them." She looked over her reports. Quite a few in engineering needed time off to focus on managing their post traumatic stress disorder. "Shore leave should take care of all that."

"Chekov to Dr. Sandy."

She opened the channel. "Sandra here, what do you want, Pavel?"

"Sulu and I are fencing in a few hours. Would you like to come?"

"Pavel, I've got reports to file."

"You can file them at practice. We're getting dinner beforehand. Please come?"

She frowned. "No. I've got reports to file."

"Ok, ok. I will bring you dinner. Chekov out."

Sandra blinked at the cheerful parting. When the hell did Chekov decide when she would do things?

The chime to her office rang out. "Er...come in!" she called out. Her eyes widened. "Commander Spock!"

"My presence surprises you, Doctor?" he asked.

"Er...yes. I wasn't aware that you needed any psychological evaluation." She sat up straighter nad shuffled her PADDs. "Please, have a seat."

"I am not here to inquire upon the state of my own mental health. I am actually here to inquire of your relationship with Ensign Chekov." He sat down on the couch and waited for her to reply.

She narrowed her eyes. "What relationship?"

"You and Ensign Chekov are in a relationship, are you not?" he asked.

"Not to my knowledge."

He processed the information. "Then may I query as to an explanation of the ensign's behavior?"

"Always, Commander. But, as you know, I can't release information without consent of relevance to the situation at hand." She sat back and crossed her arms. "So what's going on?"

"Ensign Chekov has made repeated weekly trips to your office hours. The number of visits has increased from 1 to 3. There are occasions where there are 2 trips in a week simply because he was occupied with matters." He looked at her again. "I am also aware he brings sustenance to you. He was also your primary caretaker during this past incident."

"And your query is the state of said relationship?"

"Correct."

"I am not in a relationship with Ensign Chekov, Commander." she smiled. "You and the captain seem to have the same thing going on. Are you in a relationship with each other?"

"No, we are not." He stood up again. "Thank you."

"Commander, I have a question before you go."

He faced her. "You may speak freely."

"Who's Spock Prime?

His eyes narrowed at the mention of the name. "You are aware of Spock Prime?"

She weighed her answer carefully. "I have heard of him."

He straightened and adjusted his blue shirt. "I have no comment on the matter." And with that, he briskly walked out into the hallway.

When the doors slid close, she logged onto the subspace connection. "Search for Vulcans over 100 years of age, please." The screen blinked rapidly as it flew through the profiles of the remaining Vulcans. Five profile pictures appeared at the end of the search. "Eliminate Ambassador Sarek and the Vulcan Elders from results." She looked closely at an elder Vulcan left. "Zoom picture 150%."

The image that stared back at her seemed so...Her eyes widened. Sandra rubbed her eyes to make sure she was not hallucinating. "Ambassador Solek...is Spock?" she whispered. The chime sounded and she quickly closed the profile. "Come in!"

There stood a rather angry looking ensign. "Dr. Sandy."

"Pavel, I told you I was busy." She glared right back at him. "What're you getting all pissy about?"

He stalked over to her desk and shut it off. "You work too hard." And with that, he threw her over his shoulder and walked out of the office. He keyed in the lock to lock the doors to her office and stalked off in the direction of a turbolift. "You will come have meal with me and Hikaru and then you watch fencing."

"Pavel," Sandra crossed her arms. "I can get you court marshaled for this."

"Doctor McCoy ordered bedrest for you." He set her down when the turbolift's doors closed. "You disobey doctor's orders."

"I do that a lot." She reached to signal her floor again. He batted her hands out of the way. "Hey!"

"You disobey CMO McCoy orders and he get really mad." Grey eyes watched her. "I do not want Doctor McCoy to get mad. And I want you to get better."

She waved him off. "Pavel, I'm fine. I saw two patients today."

"Is too many." He grabbed her hand when the doors slid open and nearly dragged her towards the mess hall. "Hikaru, I got her!" he shouted down the hall.

Sandra could barely get a word in edgewise while Pavel sat her down and slid over a tray. She sighed and began to eat. The pilot smiled at her sympathetically. She smiled back. Of all of the people on the ship, Hikaru Sulu knew of Pavel's boundless energy. "Glad you could join us for dinner."

"I had no choice." Sandra cast a look over at Pavel. "Are you gonna sit there and absorb your food slowly or are you going to eat it?" The young man blushed and began to shovel food down his throat. "Pavel announced I was to join you two for dinner and fencing." She looked over to the ensign and smiled. "Seems like I didn't have a choice." Hikaru only smiled.

As the night wore on, fencing didn't turn out to be that bad. If anything, it was entertaining to try and follow the many rules associated with it. Finally, she excused herself with the true promise of heading back to her quarters for some shut eye. She slipped off her coat and uniform down to her federation issued undergarments and collapsed on her bed, exhaustion claiming her consciousness.

The chime of a video call awoke her from her slumber. Sandra grumbled as she dragged herself out of bed and threw on a pink, satin robe. She didn't even bother to look presentable when she sat down and accepted the call. Pavel looked both excited and nervous at the same time, still dressed in his uniform. _Probably just getting ready for a shift._

"Yes, Pavel?" She thanked whatever deities existed out there that technology filtered the mind's chatter even more. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"We will be approaching New Vulcan in 10 hours." Pavel began. She stared blankly at him. He seemed to fidget even more. She sat back and watched him. He cursed in Russian. A flush appeared on his pale cheeks and she heard the hushed whispers between him and who she guessed was either Sulu or the captain. "No, captain! I will not say that I can see myself in her pants!" came the harsh whisper. Sandra chuckled silently to herself.

"Come on! She'll think it's cute!" whispered an off screen voice.

She cleared her throat. "Captain." she called out. "I know you're there."

Pavel's grey eyes widened. She heard the captain mumble "shit" and the sound of scuffling. "You're on your own, Chekov. Good luck!" The blush spread to the rest of his face.

"Pavel? Why was the captain in your quarters?" she asked.

Fidget. "I needed his help with something."

"And why did you call me?" She really shouldn't enjoy watching him squirm. But it was highly entertaining. "Are you ok, Pavel?"

"Yes!" he blurted. "I...er..." He took a deep breath. "We will be arriving at New Vulcan in 10 hours. Do you have shore leave?"

She smiled. "Yes. I was planning on accompanying Lt Young on a tour of the Vulcan Council." His eyes kept darting back and forth between her state of dress and the floor of his own room. "Is Commander Spock letting you go planetside?"

"Yes. Yes." He nodded a few times. "I was wondering if...if you would like to accompany me." The floor of his bunk seemed VERY interesting. "To see a tour of the new Vulcan Science Academy."

She blinked. "Pavel, are you actually asking me out on a date?"

"Yes."

Her face softened. "Pavel...wouldn't you feel more suited for someone who can keep up with you on trans warp theory? I'm your psychologist. It happens often. You're feeling an attachment to me because of what transpires in my offices. It's nor--"

"No, is not that!" His head snapped up and she saw what almost seemed like anger in his eyes. "I can talk trans warp theories with Scotty or navigation with Sulu. Or even the Captain. And it is not doctor-patient affection. I do not come to your offices for therapy."

She blinked, thinking back on their meetings. He often came by with food. Or to keep her company. He spoke fondly of his home in Russia, how he misses it sometimes. He listened to when she spoke about home.

"I come by because you seem so lonely. The first time, you looked like you missed home. Then I got to know you with our meetings. And you are pretty." He blushed again, bravado ebbing. She smiled at his comment.

"All right. One date." she finally replied. A smile brightened up his face. "But after I have a tour of the Vulcan High Council with Lt. Young."

"Ah I will come with you!" She found herself smiling at his enthusiasm.

"Great! We're leaving at 1300."

"Does this mean I can call you Sandy?"

She rested her chin on her hands. "I introduced myself to you as Dr. Sandra Linh. You insisted that you call me Dr. Sandy. You're the only person I have allowed to call me Sandy in a very long time."

He smiled even wider. "Then I will see you at 1300. Good night, Sandy."

She turned off her monitor and chuckled. Of course, she had a date with the youngest officer in Starfleet. Sandra snuggled back into her sheets. _He'll understand that it was simply a normal feeling between doctor and patient._

Sandra was dragging an incredibly reluctant Lt. Young towards the transporter room. "Sandra, let go!" But she kept a firm hold on her friend's arm. "This is assault!"

"It isn't." Sandra replied. They stepped into the transporter room with Pavel and some other crew members on the pad, waiting for them. "We're all here, Scotty."

The Scotsman gawked at her. "You're taking me best engineer?!"

"She needs a break from cleaning up after your messages. Plus it would be better for her mental health." Sandra replied.

"Just bring her back in one piece!" the chief engineer joked as he set the coordinates and beamed them planetside.

Immediately, they felt the hot air hit them. The other crew members walked off to explore the planet. Sandra linked arms with the engineer. "Come on, Shelley-belly, let's go see that council!"

Shelley glared at her. "I told you not to call me that."

"I've told people to not call me Sandy, but a certain ensign insists on it anyway." Sandra threw a glance back at Pavel. "Now come on, I've arranged for a fun, private tour."

"With who?"

Sandra's eyes sparkled. "Ambassador Solek." She saw the other girl's eyes widen. They walked over to the Ambassador's chambers with Pavel in tow. Shelley's eyes took in the Vulcan architecture and threw glares at Sandra whenever she could.

"You're dead." she promised. "I have engines to tend to."

"Scotty and the others can take care of it." They were led to a sitting room outside of the Ambassador's offices.

A young Vulcan, possibly in his mid 20's, walked out of the offices. He canted his head. "My apologies. Ambassador Solek has an appointment that could not be interrupted. He would not be able to escort you as planned. I am Silak, aide to Ambassador Solek. I will be taking his place."

Sandra's eyes widened as she took in the young man before her. She cast a glance over to Shelley, seeing her eyes widen in interest. A plan formulated in her mind. She stood up. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Silak. I'm Dr. Sandra Linh of the U.S.S. Enterprise. This is Lt. Shelley Young and Ensign Pavel Chekov." He acknowledged them. She watched him steadily and smiled.

"Lieutenant, I see you are associated with operations."

Shelley didn't answer. Sandra nudged her in the ribs. Immediately, the woman nodded. "Yes, yes. I'm an engineer. Uh...assistant to Mr. Scott."

"I am sure your work is...fascinating." Silak replied. Shelley blushed. Sandra grinned. He cleared his throat. "We should begin our tour of the High Council chambers."

"Uh, you know what? Lt. Young is the one that was really excited to come to New Vulcan. Why don't you guys go ahead? I just realized that Ensign Chekov had invited me to a lunch date. If you will excuse me, Mr. Silak." Sandy smiled. She turned to Shelley, her grin widening. "I'm so sorry, sweetie. I did promise him. But have fun!"

She grabbed Pavel by the arm and sauntered out of the chambers. She dared to look back at the remaining tow taking off in the direction of the chambers. "That was very sneaky, Dr. Sandy." Pavel chuckled.

Sandra looked at him, her face a picture of wide eyed innocence. "Why, Pavel, I was telling the truth!" She looped her arm around his. A blush crept to his face. "You promised me the science academy. Lunch was just...an exaggeration."

After wandering around a bit, they were able to find a restaurant with Vulcan cuisine. "So you never felt out of place at the Academy?" she asked.

He shook his head, curls bouncing slightly. "Not really. I was so cute to all the other cadets. My roommate loved me because he used me to lure women." he chuckled at the memory. "I was teenager. It was not difficult to adjust with so many women wanting to hang around me."

She chuckled. "Jim must not have been happy about that."

"Net, he was not. But I never met him. I have worked with Sulu before. And took Commander Spock's classes before. But other than that, I had not met any of them before the Narada incident." Their salads arrived and they forked through some of it. "I had seen a psychologist when we returned to Earth. We all had to."

"I remember. The offices were flooded for a week. People cycled in and out." Sandra nodded solemnly. "Myself, I got most of the engineering crew."

He nodded. "Dr. Tamul worked with me. He was wery nice. Psychology...is not so different from physics. It is physics in the mind. Emotions...they do not follow algorithms. I do not see how you can do it. You must be amazing to do so."

"Pavel, I'm a Betazoid. I can read thoughts." she smiled. "Except for Ferengi."

"What about you? You grew up in San Fransisco. How did you get there?" he asked.

"My birth parents passed on when I was young. Hence, I was put in the adoption system on Betazed." Their meals arrived and Sandra carefully cut her food. "When I was 3, my human parents had vacationed on Betazed and saw me. They wanted children and were tryign desperately. But for some reason, they could not conceive. So they decided to take a vacation away from it all and came to Betazed to relax. They said that they were at some park as was my agency. I walked over and told my adoptive mother that it would be ok and that I understood her pain."

He was watching her in rapt attention.

"And so I was whisked away to Earth. That's where I grew up and attended UC Berkeley then went off to Starfleet." She finished and took a bite of food.

"Why did you join?"

"I wanted to see space." she smiled. He smiled back at her. "During my time there, I would take all sorts of classes. Primarily science, but I liked stellar cartography and first aid and took a few physics and engineering classes."

"So that is why you helped in the medical bay? And how you go down to engineering?"

"Not really. I go down to engineering to visit my former patients. They suffer the most loss during any scrimmage. So they take a bit of precedence over others."

They continued chatting through lunch and laughed their way through the Science Academy, gawking at the various displays. She smiled inwardly. Pavel's thoughts were on his sleeve. Anything he did not say or express normally related to ships and equations and physics that made her dizzy. She noticed that as the day wore on, she held onto his arm more comfortably. Moved more comfortably towards him.

Her joy slipped away when they approached the council. Her mind was suddenly slammed with _oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit_. She looked up to see Lt Young and Mr. Silak standing a bit apart. Her face red and the tips of his ears a minty green.

Shelley ran down the steps towards them with a mumbled "Let's go." Sandra bid a goodbye to Mr. Silak and off they went to the guest houses that they had booked. Pavel left them alone to speak while he walked off to check them in.

"Shelley, what happened?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"Sandra...I high fived him." Sandra's eyes widened. "I forgot Vulcans are touch telepaths! And I high fived him! Oh god! It's like I kicked him in the balls!"


	5. Chapter 5

Shelley sat down on the bed in her room on New Vulcan. Her face twisted up. "God, I'm such an idiot." In her enthusiasm of engineering, she had high fived Silak, the Vulcan aide. She closed her eyes and still could see his wide eyed look of shock. He had turned moss green immediately afterwards and Sandra had chosen to walk up, arm in arm with Chekov.

Well at least one of them had a good time.

To be honest, she did have a good time with Silak. It was a very precise tour of the Vulcan High Council. She could tell he was passionate about his work. His voice and facial expressions didn't give that away. But Shelley saw the way his eyes seemed to sparkle. They sat down to lunch and he discussed his goals in being the aide to the ambassador. He asked her about her work and she gladly began to talk about the engineering hell that Scotty often put her through. He watched her as she expressed everything. At one point, she even thought that his lip quirked at her enthusiasm.

She turned her face into the pillow. There's no way he would talk to her now. She just did the Vulcan equivalent of kicking him in the balls. She cursed herself at being too enthusiastic.

The console of the room blipped, calling for her attention. She pulled herself off the bed and walked over, activating it. Shelley was surprised to see a video call request from Silak. She opened the channel to see his stoic face staring back. "Mr. Silak!"

He cleared his throat. "Lt. Young, there is a lecture at the Vulcan Science Academy tomorrow night. It is upon the subject of engineering from our past in comparison to how it could be bettered in our present. It would be pleasing to have your company during the lecture and perhaps dinner beforehand."

Shock froze her speaking skills for a bit. "But...I practically kicked you in the balls!" she blurted. Immediately, her hands slapped over her mouth. _Way to go, Shelley. How's the taste of your foot?_

His expression didn't change. "I surmised that you did not do so with intention. I had asked the ambassador about the exchange. He has explained that such a reaction is human." He paused. "As my studies have been in human culture, it would be logical to spend as much time as possible interacting with one."

She took in the information. Oh. So she was to be a subject to be studied. "I'll check to see if Dr. Linh and Chekov are busy to join you tomorrow night."

"My preference would be only yourself." Silak replied. "I find you...fascinating. You express things so readily. And yet you seem to be at homeostasis when speaking of engineering. If it is of your preference for the doctor and ensign to accompany us--"

"No, no!" She sat down again, blushing at cutting him off. "I would love to accompany you to dinner and the lecture."

"I am pleased. I will arrive tomorrow evening at 1800." He paused. "Should you find yourself otherwise preoccupied for that evening, do not hesitate to inform me at the ambassador's offices."

She smiled. "Ok. Good night, Mr. Silak." She turned off the console and settled into bed.

Sandra was brushing her hair when the chine at her door rang out. She closed the robe that was provided and tied the knot. "Come in!" The doors slid open and Pavel walked in. "Pavel! Is there something wrong?"

He sat down on the edge of the bed, next to her. "Dr. Sandy..." He was still dressed in Starfleet gold. He stood up and paced the room, running a hand through his curls and muttered in Russian. Finally, he looked at her. "Goodnight, Dr. Sandy." And just like that, he left again.

Sandra blinked. Then she resumed getting ready for bed. She knew that he had only grown attached to her because she didn't brush him off as a kid. He was a brilliant young man. Animated. They got all sorts of stares during lunch.

She laid her head down to sleep. "At least he got it out of his system."

By the time they had to leave New Vulcan, Sandra noticed that Shelley was practically beaming. They walked towards the beam site. "So...does this mean that you'll be fielding more waves from New Vulcan?"

Shelley only grinned mysteriously. "We'll just wait and see." Sandra smiled back.

She looked over at Pavel. He stared at the ground. He hadn't spoken to her since that night. Which she thought was fine as Lt. Uhura had decided to spend time with her. But Pavel didn't even look at her. He didn't wave at her or smile when she saw him. Barely even said hi.

New Vulcan disappeared before her eyes and the Transporter room reappeared. Immediately, the navigator bolted out of the room. She blinked. "I'll be in my offices." she told Shelley as she walked off.

But the engineer was already off to where she was needed. Sandra only shook her head and entered her offices. _Back to the grind._

Sandra balanced her stylus on her nose. It had been a few months since New Vulcan. Pavel had stopped coming by her offices. She still saw patients. Still fielded calls late at night about the captain's nightmares of frosted, sugared, sweets. Things were back to normal. She would get reports from Shelley about New Vulcan. Well...about Silak, of course. It was to be a long distance relationship. But both parties were willing to try. She was a Starfleet engineer and he was an ambassador's aide.

She stood up. Maybe a walk would be good. She bumped into a red shirted lieutenant who was on his way to sick bay. He swayed on his feet a bit. She held out her hands and steadied him. "Are you ok?" she asked. His pupils seemed dialated.

"Y'know, doc...you're pretty hot. I bet you could read every dirty thought that goes on on this ship." He giggled. She held onto him and led him to sick bay. "We LOVE you down in engineering. Especially because you come visit. You care about us."

"It's my job, Lieutenant." she replied. "McCoy! Got one for you!"

A curtain was pulled back and Sandra was shocked to find the doctor laying on a biobed. His face was wrenched in sadness. "Took the whole damn planet." he muttered. "She took Jo." He curled up on his side. "She took my baby girl away from me!"

Sandra's eyes widened. She pulled a nurse over. "Nurse Thompson, what's going on?"

The nurse set his mouth in a thin line. "Some kind of intoxication got into the air filters. Chapel is working on a vaccine. Goldberg is down too." There was a clank that drew their attention. "Doctor!"

McCoy waved off Thompson. "Know what I'm doin." He hefted the hypospray to his own neck and administered the drug. He shook his head. He looked like he sobered up. "Ok, I'm taking this to Chapel. It sobers you up temporarily." With that, he slightly stumbled over towards his offices.

Thompson helped Sandra relieve the lieutenant. She followed McCoy into his offices. "What the hell's going on, McCoy?"

"Get the hell out of my sick bay!" he roared.

She scrambled out, more than a little affronted. Spock entered the sick bay as she exited. She looked around carefully. Everyone was giggling or stumbling. Some were crying. "Intoxication..." Sandra's eyes widened in realization. "These people are drunk!" A few others swayed past her. "Pavel..."

Sandra broke out into a run towards the bridge. She passed Sulu brandishing a foil at those who passed by, challenging them to a duel. She slowed her pace. Why was she running again? She was standing at the turbolift. Sulu was still trying to get people to fence. His cries of "En guard!" echoed down the hall.

Pavel had been instructed by the captain to go to his quarters and stay there while they figured out the ailment that seemed to have broken out in engineering and was spreading through the ship. From the short clip of video feed that he saw, it was no true affliction. Just looked like they were having a good time. With Scotty singing as well as Uncle Piotr after a few bottles of vodka.

Commander Spock had already left and Sulu had already left. This left Uhura to monitor frequencies and Pavel to go to his rooms like a child. His face twisted into a frown. He was 19 now, why did everyone think he was still a child?

The doors slid open to the chaos that had taken over the decks. Dr. Sandy was frozen in place, watching Sulu charge down the hall. "Dr. Sandy!" came his surprised gasp.

She turned to him. He had managed to avoid her since his botched attempt on New Vulcan. He had made a fool of himself and didn't even bother to go through with the plan he had. After the date, he wanted to tell her that he cared for her but he just couldn't bring himself to say it. So he left her and managed to try to avoid her on the ship.

A blush crept onto her cheeks. "Pavel..." she breathed. To his surprise, she walked over and threw her arms around him.

"Dr. Sandy, you are sick. I'll take you to sick bay." He tried to pull her body away from him, ignoring how good it felt.

"No, I want to stay with you." she pleaded. She looked at him in wonder. "Your mind...you speak it so easily. Not like so many other humans." She placed her hand on his chest. "Don't say you don't want me. I can read your mind."

Pavel gulped. "Dr. Sandy, I do not think you are yourself. I will take you to your rooms. You can sleep it off there." He pushed at her and she didn't budge. He swept her up into his arms and she wrapped her arms around his neck easily.

"Pavel..." she breathed against his neck. He began a brisk walk, ignoring her. He had been doing so for months. A little bit more wouldn't be that hard, right? He keyed in his override to her rooms and placed her on her bed. "Pavel, stay with me. I've missed you."

Since when did Sandy keep her room unbearably hot? Pavel swallowed. She was practically mewling at him. "Dr. Sandy, you are sick. Dr. McCoy will make you better when he gets the vaccine." he replied, desperately trying to not give into the urge to tell her everything.

He looked down at her. Her eyes were glassy. Her lips were open and seemed so very inviting. "Pavel..."

He stood up ad away from her. "I...I have to go." Her hand clamped down on his. "Dr. Sandy..."

"Just call me Sandy. We can pretend I'm a human girl." She sat up and continued to stare at him. "Please stay."

His head was swimming. "You said you did not want to be involved with officers on the U.S.S. Enterprise. That we were all crazy."

"Yes."

He sat down and faced her again. "Do you even know who I am right now?" he asked carefully. Pavel could almost feel his shield slipping. "I do not want to be here if--"

She placed her fingers on his lips. Then she reached to cup his cheek. "Ensign Pavel Andreievich Chekov." she whispered. "I am aware of who you are and what I am doing." She wrapped her arms around him again and pulled herself closer to him. "Pavel. Pavel. Pavel."

He gulped again and attempted to steel his nerves. "Dr. Sandy..." He peeled her away from his person and made sure she was laying down. "Dr. Sandy, you are sick." He stood up and made a hasty exit.

"Pavel! Wait!" she called out. He closed the doors and locked them, programming them to only open again to the CMO.

He sighed heavily and leaned against the coolness of the ship.


	6. Chapter 6

"YOU." growled out a voice that made Pavel shake in his boots. Especially when that voice is paired with hyposprays.

"Bones!" came the surprised cry of the captain. "What a pleasant surprise!"

"Oh drop that bullshit, Jim. I'm here to ask your ensign why the hell he's been haunting outside of medical bay." Chills dropped down his spine as the doctor made his way onto the bridge. "I'm up to my goddamn ears in recovering drunks. And Chapel comes and tells me that she's seen one Ensign Pavel Chekov pacing up and down the halls. I gave his goddamn girlfriend the vaccine!"

"Chekov?" The ensign didn't answer. "Ok. Mr. Chekov, Bones, my ready room, please. Spock, you have the conn." He stood up and stiffly followed the doctor and captain to the captain's ready room. As soon as the doors closed, the captain asked, "Ok, what's going on, Chekov?"

"I-is nothing, sir." Pavel lied through his teeth. "And she is _not_ my girlfriend."

"Nothing, my ass." Dr. McCoy snorted.

"Bones, play nice." the captain warned. Pavel was staring at the floor. "Chekov." Kirk's tone was softer. "Pavel, what's going on?"

There was a long pause. "I went to see Dr. Sandy." he admitted quietly. "No one has heard from her, sir. I am worried."

Kirk narrowed his eyes. "Now that's not possible. Have you talked to _everyone_ on board?"

"I try to message her, sir. She does not respond. She has not been to her office. Not medical bay." His hands clutched the back of a chair. "So I walk by, maybe I see her."

"Maybe you should check out engineering, Chekov. She's there pretty often." Kirk suggested. "And most likely, she's not gonna cruise by Bones' neck of the ship so going around medical bay wouldn't do you any good." He leaned over on his console. "Kirk to Ensign Ricky. Could you come up to the bridge to relieve Ensign Chekov?"

Ricky replied quickly. "Aye, sir!"

"I'm gonna hold it to your word, Jim."

"As long as you're holding yourself against me." And Pavel bolted to engineering before hearing the rest of their conversation.

He ducked under pipes and wove his way through other ensigns. "Mr. Scott! Mr. Scott!" he shouted. "Move! Out of my way!" He screeched to a halt when a tall woman stepped in front of him. "Lt. Young!"

She looked up from her PADD. "Ensign? What the hell are you doing down here?"

"I am looking for Dr. Sandy. Have you seen her?"

She blinked owlishly at him. "No, I haven't." She pursed her lips. "Come to think of it, she hasn't been fielding my calls." She turned her eyes, stylus easily tapping across the screen. "Computer, locate Dr. Linh."

"Officer's barracks. Quarters of Linh, Dr. Sandra." the PADD chirped back.

Lt. Young narrowed her eyes. "Computer, open channel to Dr. Linh's quarters." The chirp sounded. "Dr. Linh, it's Shelley."

"Hi, you've reached Dr. Sandra Linh. I'm not in my quarters right now. Please either contact my office or leave a message and I will return your call as soon as possible. Thank you!"

The lieutenant closed the connection. She looked at Pavel carefully. "And you said that she's not in her offices?" She tapped the stylus against her chin. "Go check her rooms. I'll check her offices when I'm done with--"

"OY! YOUNG! YE AIN'T ONBOARD TO TALK TO WEE ENSIGNS! GET YOUR ARSE BACK HERE!" shouted a familiar voice.

"I gotta go, Chekov. But check up on her for me, ok?" Lt. Young jogged off, leaving him alone.

Pavel collected his thoughts as he made his way towards her quarters. The last time he had seen her, she was in the fevered throes of that infection that had the whole crew lowering their inhibitions. It was weeks ago.

"Ensign authorization code 9-5...victor...victor...2." he called out. "Open doors." The doors slid open.


	7. Chapter 7

Sandra was working on her weekly report to Starfleet when the announcement came out over the shipwide announcement. "This is Captain James T. Kirk. I'm gonna need Dr. McCoy, Chekov, Dr. Linh and Scotty to meet me in shuttle bay. Kirk out." Her brows furrowed in confusion. Nevertheless, she got up and followed the CMO down the hallway towards the shuttle bay.

"Jim, what the hell's going on?" McCoy automatically growled as soon as they entered the room. Sandra was still in step with the CMO was they walked into a shuttlecraft with Chekov behind them as well as Ensign Allbright. "There better be a damn good reason for all of us to go down to the planet."

The captain was buckling a belt with a phaser and a communicator and sat himself down in the pilot's seat. "I'll give you the quick version, Bones. Have a seat." McCoy took the seat next to the captain while Sandra and the others sat in the back and buckled in. "Spock's sensors picked up all sorts of weird crap from the planet. Life signs but not life forms. Transmissions have been scrambled. So we can't send anything to Starfleet, obviously. We also can't beam down planetside."

There was a heavy pause between the two as Sandra watched. "You don't think it's..."

Kirk seemed determined. "No, he's dead. And no one else knows enough to try the same thing."

Their craft flew out of the hangar and towards the planet. "So why am I here, captain?" she asked.

"Like I said. Life but not life forms. You're a Betazoid so you should be able to read any minds if they are there. Bones is coming along to verify physical life forms. You're there for psychological life forms. We needed Chekov because we need him to disarm whatever it is that's blocking our signal. We won't be able to contact the Enterprise until it's shut down." he replied. "Allbright and I are there for security and possibly any talks that might occur."

She frowned. "Captain, there are life forms that Betazoids cannot read."

He flashed a grin at her. "Well, let's find out."

They broke the atmosphere and shot towards the rocky terrain. When the door hissed open, she took in the sight. "I thought you said this was a class M planet?"

Chekov, Allbright, and McCoy stepped out of the craft as well. "Yeah, Jim, this place looks like Vulcan used to be."

Kirk finally popped his head out of the door and shut it. "Well then, let's go introduce ourselves." And with that, he walked off in a direction. "Come on, Bones! Chekov, Allbright, I need you up here!"

McCoy rolled his eyes and Sandra felt that the sound of her hand smacking her forehead could be heard for kilometers around. The two doctors trailed after Jim's crew. "So...why did you call Jim Captain Manwhore when you first beamed on? We could've had you court martialed for that." he asked.

"You wait nearly 8 months to ask me that?" she quipped. McCoy's brows furrowed. _I don't remember you sleeping with Jim._ She paused in her step. "No, I did not sleep with Jim." The gravel crunched under their feet. "He slept with my roommate. Her people hold the act of making love as a sanctity of marriage type of deal. So when he wouldn't really return her calls or when she saw him with someone else, she got pretty bad."

"How bad?"

"Were you at the student clinic when Tyra G'srenchi was brought in?" McCoy froze in his tracks. "Yeah, that was her." The man didn't say anything. She knew he didn't really need to. He understood.

"What about you?"

"What about me?" she asked.

"You've been avoiding Chekov for a good while now."

"None of your business, McCoy."

They trudged on and followed Jim up the side of some kind of cliff. "Anything yet, Bones?" called out Kirk. They stopped to take in the view. "Damn, it looks nice up here."

McCoy waved his tricorder. "Still life signs." He looked up, surveying the landscape. "But no life."

"Linh?"

"I can't get much. It sounds like a million little signs and one giant sign at the same time." she replied. It seemed to get louder in her head when she walked closer to the edge. Before she got within a meter of it, the ground beneath them rumbled. She screamed and tried to scramble back to the away team. The ground gave way.

"Sandy!" shouted a voice.

"Pavel!" she cried out as she fell. There was a sharp crack and her vision went black.

She groaned when consciousness seeped into her mind. The warm pillow she was resting on shifted and replaced her head on something soft. Sandra blinked in the darkness. "W-where am I?"

"Shh...don't move." whispered a quiet, familiar voice. She heard a chirp. "Captain. Dr. McCoy. Can anyone hear me?"

"Can't contact, remember? Signal knocked out communications." she mumbled. "Allbright? Is that you?" Wherever they were was too dark for her to tell. Her head hurt something awful to really concentrate on the subconscious ideas. The soft pillow wasn't as warm as the first one but still smelled wonderfully.

"No. Is not Allbright." came the reply. She gulped. "Don't worry, Dr. San...dra." She winced at his pronunciation of her full name. "I am sure that the captain and doctor will find us before long." She shivered. "Are you cold?"

"I was warm right before I woke up.." she mumbled. Sandra finally tried to look for him. She propped herself up to find see him sitting just inside the cave mouth. She looked down at her pillow. It was a gold, neatly folded gold Starfleet tunic. "Pavel, you've got to be freezing." He didn't budge.

She stood up and sat down next to him, a slow ache in her head reminded her of the accident. "My heart stopped when you fell through the rock." he admitted quietly. His voice was lulling her to sleep again. And his scent. So distinctly...Pavel. "So I followed you. You were not moving." His shirt was big enough for her to use as a small blanket.

"I'm sorry I worried you." she mumbled sleepily. Her head felt heavy and his shoulder seemed so inviting. Before she could stop herself, she was practically cuddling up to the navigator. His arm wrapped itself around her shoulders.

"You're ok. That is all that matters to me right now." She was almost unconscious again. He kissed the top of her head and held her closer. "The captain and doctor will find us. I will look for them. You sleep."

The echoes of it tugged at her mind first. _Help us. Help us._ Her eyes cracked open to the dawn. _Help us. Disarm Deb. Help us._ The words kept buzzing in her head. Pavel's scent enveloped her as she slowly woke up. The weight on her head was snoring softly.

"Pavel..." she nudged him. "Pavel, I think I hear them."

"Net, Reggie. I do not have advanced interstellar physics today." he mumbled and held her closer.

She pushed at him. "Pavel."

Grey eyes blinked owlishly open. He sat up and stretched in the morning light and smiled at her. Then shock registered on his face. "Dr. Sandy!" His brain seemed to catch him up on what transpired the night before. "How is your head? Are you ok?"

"I'm ok, Pavel. Just shut up for a minute." She listened closer. "Disarm...Deb?" She slowly stood up with Pavel shooting up to hold onto her. "This could be the signal that's jamming our communications." She thrust the gold shirt at him and edged deeper into the cave. Don't get separated. Deb will take you. Sandra grabbed Pavel's hand and held on tight. "Stay with me, ok?"

"Yes! Ok!" he chirped.

Her arm reached out and patted along the walls. Cold. But...as they progressed further into the cavern, it slowly stopped feeling organic and more...synthetic. A rock gave way when she pressed on it accidentally. She jumped when a panel slid up to show a control panel.

Pavel whispered something.

"What is it?"

"I can...fix that! I can fix that! Here, here. Hold your arms around my waist. I can reprogram it!" His hands maneuvered her to wrap themselves around his waist from behind. She peeked over his shoulder to see his fingers dance across the screen in his calculations. "Sandy, when I tell you, try to contact the captain."

She used one hand to fumble with her communicator. "Ready."

"Ok...now!"

She pushed at a button. "Captain Kirk, this is Dr. Linh, do you read me?"

Static met their ears. She was about to try again when the familiar voice broke through. "Kirk here. Are you guys ok? Are you with Chekov?"

"Yes, sir. We disabled the--"

"The source that was bending light enough to make its inhabitants invisible with a signal strong enough to knock out communications of any nearby star ship." Kirk replied. "We know."

"How do you know?"

"Suddenly, we're standing in the middle of a busy city. We'll send you a hailing as soon as we've settled talks with the President of...wherever we are. Kirk out."

She shouted in joy and Pavel joined her in the enthusiasm. He leaned down and kissed her. He blinked and pulled away. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" He began to babble an apology. She smiled and placed a finger on his lips. Sandra rose up on her tiptoes and kissed him.

"I'm willing to try, Pavel. If you are."

A blush rose over his cheeks. "I am."


	8. Chapter 8

Sleep was a luxury that was warranted to those who were _not_ on the Enterprise. Sandra was sleeping in her quarters after a shift when her holodesk bleeped. She groaned and sat up, throwing a robe on and sat down to take the call.

The image of a familiar face popped up. "Admiral Pike." she greeted. "Can you tell me why the hell you're calling me in the middle of the night?" She yawned. "...sir?"

"Archer contacted you yet?" he asked solemnly.

"No." She sighed and ran a hand through her messy curls. "I don't know what you guys are looking for. Or why you'd tap me."

"Archer wanted a spy to find something to kick Mr. Scott off ship for. Luckily, I was able to be the one to pick out the right psychologist for the job." the older man smiled. "And I did. Winnie spoke highly of you."

She smirked. "How is she doing?"

"Much better than before." Pike sat back in his wheelchair. "We tapped you because you were one of the few no-nonsense doctors that we could send onto the Enterprise without losing yourself."

"And not get in Kirk's pants."

Pike's lip quirked. "Ok, that too. Are you going to file those reports to Starfleet? On Mr. Scott?"

"I already sent them, Admiral. If you want, there could be copies requested on your behalf." She looked at him steadily. "Admiral Archer has only been after Scotty because of a small incident. Losses happen in Starfleet. He should reference my publications. I didn't write anything that isn't true, Admiral. This ship needs Scotty."

Pike nodded. "Understood." He paused as if to consider his next few words carefully. "There was also a request from a lawyer from Georgia for a mental evaluation." He shifted in his seat. "For Dr. McCoy."

"What would a lawyer want with McCoy?" She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms.

"The former Mrs. McCoy is arranging for a hearing on the custody of their daughter. So if they proved that McCoy is mentally unstable enough to have a child with him at any given point in time, then his visitation rights would be revoked."

That got her attention. "I see."

"Send me the report when it's compiled." Pike ordered.

"Aye, sir. Goodnight, sir." He nodded and she shut off the screen. There was no way she could sleep now. So she changed into her tunic and trousers and shrugged on her lab coat. She dropped the whole ridiculous idea of wearing a skant with leggings when running around in trousers seemed _much_ more practical. Shoving on her boots, Sandra made her way down the ship.

She had taken to walking around the ship on nights that she couldn't sleep. It helped her sort out whatever thoughts worked themselves into her mind. Pavel would most likely be asleep. She found herself in front of sickbay.

The captain and doctor were sitting on a biobed, talking quietly. "Pike just told me about how Jocelyn's wanting to rearrange the custody rights." she heard McCoy murmur. "Shit, Jim. She really wants to take my little girl away from me."

The captain made soothing sounds. "We'll find a way to work it out, Bones. We will."

Sandra turned around and continued walking away. She had seen McCoy at his best (miraculously bringing men and women back to life) and his worst (drinking himself to death when death did occur). Easily, she could see that he had his own vices. But nothing that would put a child in danger. Jim would easily put a child in danger, but not the doctor.

Sandra sighed. First Scotty, now McCoy? What was it that Earth had against this crew? People began to mill about the ship as shifts ended and started. This ship was quite obviously a little family of its own. Everyone worked in sync with each other.

If Archer didn't see it so plainly in the crew, she saw it so plainly in her patients. She was just glad she was done with that business. Three years more before they're back on Earth. Jim so easily took the role of captain and fiercely protected his crew. Even if that meant he would end up in sick bay more often than not.

A blood curling scream interrupted her inner monologue. Sandra rushed into the transporter room where there was a little girl crying on the transporter pad and Scotty and Pavel cowering behind the panel.

"Pavel? Scotty? What's going on?" she asked. Her gaze fell onto the sniffling form on the pad. "Please don't tell me that's Admiral Archer's dog. Or someone in a transporter accident."

The girl's mind easily chattered away in fear and there was a constant stream of _Daddydaddydaddy_ that poured out from her mind. Sandra looked closely at the girl. She was young...possibly 8. Brown hair and hazel-green eyes. Those same eyes widened in recognition when she saw Sandra's blue uniform. "D-do you know daddy?" she hiccuped.

Sandra approached cautiously and knelt before the girl. "Who would your daddy be, sweetie?" she asked quietly.

The little hand clutched on the little pink suitcase and the other smushed a ragged bunny to her wet face. In her hand was a little tricorder. The kind that kids often played with. She sniffled and rubbed her nose with the brown furred rabbit.

"What's your name, sweetie?" she tried again.

"Joanna. Joanna McCoy."

"Ach! She's McCoy's little one?!" shouted Scotty. Joanna cried out and darted over towards Sandra. She glared at the engineer. "Oh I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare ye."

"Did you bring her here, Scotty?" Sandra asked.

"No...Mr. Scotty didn't bring me here. I ran away from home." came the muffled reply. She sniffled and looked up at her. "Mommy was talking to Mrs. Peterson again and they were talking about taking me away from daddy!"

"Ok, sweetie. I'm gonna take you out to sick bay. My name is Dr. Linh. But...you can call me Sandra." The girl nodded. "Pavel, I'll see you later on today ok?" she smiled at the young man. He smiled back, suddenly bright again.

She heard bits of teasing as she left the transporter room. "So why did you run away?"

"Because mommy wants to take me away from daddy." Joanna replied solidly. "I don't wanna be away from daddy. She said...she said that daddy doesn't care. That's why he went to Starfleet. I know he secretly sends me letters almost every week. Even if mommy pretends they're not there. But I know they're there."

"You're a really smart girl if you were able to work a transporter by yourself. How did you manage that?" Sandra asked.

The girl stiffened a bit. "I lied to Uncle Chris." she admitted quietly. "We were in San Fransisco because Mrs. Peterson wanted to learn more about daddy and I went to see Uncle Chris. I told him that I was supposed to visit daddy." She looked up at Sandra worriedly. "You're not going to tell, are you?"

"No, I'm not going to tell." Sandra assured the young girl. "That's really smart though. Are you smart in school?"

"I've got top grades. Bobby Wesch likes beating up the smart kids. That was until I beat him up. Then he left smart kids alone." Joanna grinned.

They arrived at Sick bay and Sandra had managed to get the poor girl to a non-hysterical state. The doors hissed open to the sight of McCoy tearing hell into the sick bay. Christine took pity by informing her that "the ex" had just sent McCoy a message of the custody rehearing and the lack of Joanna's presence.

Feeling the girl's hand tighten in her own, Sandra knelt down. "Don't worry, he's just scared to hear that you're gone." she whispered. "McCoy!" she called out.

The doctor froze in his tirade. His eyes immediately softened and he rushed over to the little girl, scooping her up in his arms. "Jojo." he whispered. "Oh Jojo. Thank god you're all right." He kissed her face and held her tight. "Don't you _dare_ scare me like that ever again." He finally looked at her. "Why did you do that? Your mama's gone and worried about you. How did you get here? Oh god, I'm just glad you're in one damn piece."

Her little arms hugged him back. "Daddy, momma was gonna make sure you couldn't even visit. So I ran away."

Sandra took this time to retreat to her own office. It was a moment of father-daughter time. And she knew enough to never intrude on something like that. She settled into her chair and began to write up her report for McCoy.

She was halfway through when her doors opened. Looking over, she saw a small figure hop onto the patient couch. "Mama sent me to a therapist." she started.

Sandra set down her PADD. "Oh yeah?"

"She said that she was worried about me getting the wrong idea about things. Why daddy and mama broke up." She looked over at Sandra with such expressive eyes. "Are you going to write bad things about daddy?"

Sandra simply walked up and over to a replicator. "Actually, Miss Joanna. I was thinking we should have tea." She smiled at the girl. "Do you like playing tea time at home?"

Immediately, she brightened up. "Yes!" She watched in reverence as Sandra set down china teacups and a teapot with all the fixings. "Your teacups are pretty."

"They're not mine, really. They were replicated." Sandra replied. "But I can send you a set if you want."

"Two lumps of sugar, please." Joana sat up. Sandra handed her a teacup. "Do you think mama is worried about me?"

"What do you think?"

"Mama's been busy with her husband." Joanna replied. "I really wanted to come up to daddy because he knows what to do. He always knows what to do. I don't want to be separated from daddy." She frowned. "I don't care what daddy says. Space is safer than at home."

"Why is it safer than home?"

"Mike." Joanna sipped her tea. Sandra gently pushed into the young girl's mind and nearly choked on her tea when she saw what the name brought about. "I don't like Mike." Joanna said quietly. "I don't wanna go back to mama." She sipped her tea again. "You're nicer than Dr. Roberts."

"Well, not too many psychologists deal with the same kind of people I deal with. Remember," Sandra winked. "I'm on the Enterprise. I'm dealing with people like Captain Kirk and Commander Spock." Joanna giggled. "I think we should call your Uncle Chris. Let him know you're ok."

"Uncle Chris knows I'm here." At Sandra's stern look, the girl relented. "Ok..." Sandra moved out of her seat and let the girl call the man. Sandra's jaw nearly hit the floor when Admiral Pike's face appeared. "Hi, Uncle Chris."

The older man frowned. "Joanna. Did you lie to me to sneak you onto the Enterprise?" he asked.

"Yes, sir." she replied. "I'm sorry, sir." Joanna sat ramrod straight. "Will you be in trouble, sir?"

Pike sighed, evidently weary of the day's events. "Jo, I'm not gonna lie. It's going to be hard to get this pass the rest of the brass, kid. Not to mention, public relations would have my head."

"Sir, if I may interject." Sandra spoke up. "Joanna has revealed information to press charges against the former Mrs. McCoy."

Both admiral and little girl stared at her. "I was wondering why the hail was from your offices." Pike conceded.

Sandra knelt next to Joanna. "Sweetie, you can make the bad man go away. You have the power to stop this. You need to tell Admiral Pike about it." They waited on baited breath until she nodded. "Ok, baby, I'm gonna stand outside to give you some privacy."

Sandra stepped outside. She was able to take a deep breath before the red alarm went off and she rolled her eyes. "Can there be at least _one_ goddamn week without the ship being in danger?!" she shouted. She entered her office again. "Joanna, Admiral, I'm sorry to cut this transmission short. She'll call you when we're not under attack." She ended the communication and gathered her in her arms.

"What's happening?" Joanna asked. They were thrown forward from a hit, landing face forward on the couch.

"Oh just Uncle Jim's captaining, I'm sure." Sandra groaned as she righted herself again. "Come on, we'll go find a safe place to put you in." They walked out of the offices to find a flurry of people rushing by. Medical bay would be the worse place to go to. "We'll meet up with your daddy later. How about we go to my quarters? We'll have more tea there."

Joanna nodded and held on tight.

The thoughts slammed into her mind before she could see the twisted faces of Klingons. Quickly, she ducked the two of them into an officer conference room. She set Joanna at the table. "I'm gonna need you to be quiet, sweetie." She turned towards the access pad next to the door and keyed in an encrypted lock code that Pavel had taught her a few weeks ago. Sandra quickly pulled up a console and wrote in the program for an infinite security feed from before to make the room seemed empty.

"Are you staying here with me?" the girl asked.

"No, I need to assist your dad out there. But I need you to be quiet, baby. So that you stay safe ok?" Sandra stared at the girl. She fished through her pockets and handed her a communicator. "Here. If you run into any trouble, any trouble at all, I want you to call Chekov, ok?" The girl finally nodded. She hugged Joanna and rushed out the door.


	9. Chapter 9

Joanna had counted to 100 when the communicator chirped. "Sandy! Are you ok?" shouted a panicked voice.

"Chekov?" Joanna replied. "Is this Chekov?"

"Miss McCoy!" cried out the voice. "Is Dr. Sandra with you?"

"No. She left me here." she whispered back. "She told me to be quiet and to stay here to stay safe."

"I do not have time. The Klingons have come onto the ship. I want to make sure that you and Dr. Sandra are ok." Chekov replied. "We got most of them but there are some that are still loose on the ship. Just stay where you are. Chekov out."

She shut off the communicator and sat quietly in one of the seats. It took up to a count of 200 when all the shaking and rattling stopped. Joanna cautiously opened the door and peeked outside. "Grab her!" shouted a voice.

She felt rough hands grab at her and she screamed. Phaser fire began to whiz past her ear. She struggled and squirmed in her captor's grip. Scary faced Klingons fell around them. Her captor was still dragging her away. Then everything went black.

"They're heading towards engineering, sir!" Chekov reported to Kirk. Jim immediately took off after the Klingon and Joanna with Spock and Chekov in tow. They took the first immediate turbolift down into the bowels of the ship.

"Cover me, guys." Jim ordered as they walked around the familiar tubes and pipes that made up the maze that was the engineering rooms. They slowly stalked over the catwalk, seeking out their prey.

"Captain Kirk!" crowed a gravelly voice. Three heads spotted the Klingon across the way. A twisted smile broke over his face and he held the unconscious body of Joanna McCoy over the edge. "Whose life is going to be more important? Your own...or someone you barely know?"

"Put her down and we'll negotiate talks!" Jim replied. "We'll hold off phaser fire if you just let the girl go safely!"

"Tell your men to stand down."

Jim clenched his jaw. "Stand down, guys."

"But captain--" Chekov began.

"Stand down." Reluctantly, Chekov and Spock pocketed their weapons. "All right, now put her down safely."

The grip on the young girl tightened. Jim watched steadily as his face twisted into a gruesome grin. "Fine. Here." And with that, he tossed Joanna carelessly over the side.

Jim didn't think twice about running and jumping over the railing after her. He grabbed her in mid air. "I gotcha, Jo." he whispered, wrapping his body around hers, shielding her from the impact. He groaned when they hit the floor of engineering. That hurt. "Jo," he ground out through the pain. "you ok?" She wasn't moving. He groaned again, the pain in his body spreading throughout. The world was starting to get fuzzy. He felt a hypospray against his neck and the world went blissfully black.

When he swam back into consciousness, there was a warm body snuggled into his side and the familiar glaring lights of medical burning his retinas. "Bones..." he wheezed.

"Jim, I've stopped reporting as to how many times you've broken everything in your body." Bones was saying. He wasn't looking at Jim. "She wouldn't leave you alone."

Jim finally looked down at the source of warmth at his side. Joanna McCoy was curled up against him. "Is she..."

"Yeah, she's got a few bruises." Bones brushed back some of Jim's hair. "Thank you for saving my baby girl." he added quietly.

Jim grinned, despite the pain. "No problem, Bones."

"Captain." The curtain was drawn back and Sandra was standing there. "I need to speak with Dr. McCoy privately. So when things are done here, send him to my office." She closed the curtain and stalked off.

Bones quickly pressed a kiss to Jim's forehead and left. Jim smiled and settled back into sleep.

The doors slid open and the doctor walked in. "What the hell is this about?"

Sandra didn't move from her chair. "McCoy, Pike let me know that an attorney is requesting a mental evaluation from you." He snorted. "I already sent the report. That was the first thing I did once things died down. I made sure that he case was made positive for you." She still didn't look up. "I've also began to request a lawyer for Joanna."

"What the hell do you mean?"

"Admiral Pike and I are putting together a case against Michael Behr and Jocelyn Behr." Sandra began quietly.

McCoy sat down on the couch when the names sunk in. "Why is there a case against Mike and Jocelyn?"

"McCoy...it's beyond custody rights now." she continued. "We'll put M'Benga on the case because of your involvement."

"Out with it, woman." McCoy growled. "Before I go grey."

"Mike's been abusing Joanna." she finally spat out. Sandra watched the doctor carefully. His mind seemed frozen in shock.

"What?"

Sandra ran her hand through her own hair. "I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it myself. I sent a message to Commander Spock. To see if we can put together psychological evidence. M'Benga can put together actual forensic evidence." She looked at his gaping face.

Disbelief etched across his face. Shock settled. He pressed a hand to his mouth. "Did he...?" Sandra nodded. "Oh god." McCoy buried his face in his hands. "Oh god...Jo..." Her heart sank when the news sunk in. "Why..."

"She might be put on the stand. You might be put on the stand." Sandra continued. "Pike, myself, possibly the Commander, and the Captain would be called. We don't know yet." She put a hand on his shoulder. "We're gonna fight tooth and nail for her, McCoy. I'm always available if you or Joanna wish to talk." Rage burned in him. Sandra took a deep breath to not let it affect her. "Go. You're needed in sick bay. Jim and Jo need you. I will send you the details when Admiral Pike and I put together the case."

McCoy nodded numbly and walked off. She let him. He needed the homeostasis to digest the information. She didn't blame him. The images of what she saw in the young girl's mind still twisted her stomach.

The door chime rang. "Come in." she called out. Pavel stood at the door, looking a bit worse for wear. "Pavel..." She stood up and hugged him tightly. "Oh god, I kept my eyes open for any gold that would come through."

"Doctor McCoy is good at what he does." Pavel replied quietly. "I am all right." She gave him a stern look. "Ok, maybe a bruise bone or so. But mostly all right." He petted her hair. "Is she...?"

"She's just fine. Kirk got her before the impact. He absorbed most of it." Sandra replied quietly. He held her close in the quiet of her office. "Let's go get something to eat from the mess."

Pavel rubbed her shoulder and kissed the top of her head. "Ok." he replied quietly.


	10. Chapter 10

By the time they made their way back to Earth, Admiral Pike was able to compile a case against the former Mrs. McCoy and her new husband. Sandra, with the help of Commander Spock, was able to compile a psychological profile of the parties involved as well as the psychological evidence. Dr. M'Benga was able to compile physical evidence.

Sandra watched as Joanna clung to McCoy even as a judge tried to pry her away. They stood before the courthouse, in dress uniforms. Unfortunately, she and Commander Spock as well as Dr. M'Benga had entered the courthouse through a different entrance. The last she saw was the captain accompanying his friend.

She watched quietly as her colleagues took the stand. Watched as the little girl took the stand. Watched the accused take the stand. She was numb when they called her to the stand as well. She stared down the attorney and clinically gave her observation. Answered each question. _What do you do? How do you know Leonard McCoy? Joanna McCoy? Would you say she has a tendency to make up stories? What can you say about her relationship to her father? Her mother? Her stepfather?_ She could practically hear the prim woman's voice in her own head, ticking off things to do on her vacation. Sandra was nearly shaking as she stepped down from the stand.

A week passed with the same parade of people over and over again. When closing arguments were made and the jurors returned from their deliberation, Sandra sat with Pavel in the audience, her hand clutching his tightly.

"Have you reached a verdict?" rasped the judge from atop his perch.

"We, the jury, find the accused, Michael Randall Behr and Jocelyn Wendy Behr, guilty on all counts." reported a short, skinny man.

"So say you one? So say you all?" The group nodded. "Bailiff, please take Mr. and Mrs. Behr away to processing. Dr. McCoy, you will receive full custody of Miss Joanna McCoy affective today. For the first 6 months, you will need to check in with Admiral Pike weekly to report on her progress on ship. Case dismissed." With that, the gavel banged.

Relief washed over the room. The captain jumped and whooped for joy. McCoy sat there, as if years of stress had been lifted from his shoulders. Sandra watched as the accused were lead away. They were angry. Jocelyn in a state of disbelief. Pavel was jumping along with the captain and whooping for joy.

Sandra grinned to herself, hearing _daddydaddydaddydaddy_ well before the pitter patter of little feet. Joanna, dressed in her finest, ran down the aisle and into McCoy's arms. "Daddy! They said I can go into space with you!" she shouted excitedly. She chattered in McCoy's ear as they all filed out of the courthouse, relieved it was all over. Both Kirk and Joanna were doing cartwheels in the grass.

"Something on your mind, doctor?" asked a gravelly voice. Sandra turned to see Admiral Pike approaching her.

"Just glad it's over. And how we might need to child proof the ship." Sandra sighed. "Why does everyone pick on the Enterprise crew, Admiral? They're doing extremely noble things out in space. And yet their own home wants to take away everything they hold near and dear." The sun was setting. "Taking Scotty away from his beloved Enterprise. Taking Joanna away from McCoy. Kirk from his captain's chair."

Pike chuckled. "That boy's glued to the captain's chair. I'm surprised he was even here."

"He's here because McCoy needs him here." She stared as McCoy shook his head at Joanna and Kirk's antics. "They need each other. Like binary stars. Take one of them away, and suddenly, their galaxy collapses."

"I see." Pike admitted. "Who's watching the ship while you all are here?"

"Scotty." Sandra laughed. "If there's one person other than Spock that Kirk trusts with the ship, it's Scotty."

"You all are on shore leave?"

"For another week."

They watched the happy trio in silence until he spoke again. "Thank you, Dr. Linh. You did well in there." He moved to be next to her. She leaned against a column of the building.

"Thank you, Admiral." she replied. She watched as he approached Kirk and McCoy, no doubt to congratulate them. The captain jogged up to her while McCoy was distracted by Pike. "Captain."

"Why don't you join all of us for a victory dinner? Chekov and Sulu already scoped out the place for us." he grinned. "Bones owes a lot to you."

"Commander Spock and I, captain. And Dr. M'Benga." she replied. "It was a team effort. And it was to take a little girl away from the hands of a monster."

Kirk nodded solemnly. "So...dinner?" Sandra shook her head and laughed. "Good." _A flash of a golden band. Kirk smiling widely and looking up at Dr. McCoy. _Her eyes widened when she realized what was going to happen that night. Kirk's smile fell and the image immediately dissipated. "What?"

She unfolded her arms and stared at him incredulously. "Are you really...?" she asked.

He grinned and shrugged his shoulders. "Well. I figured since were down at the courthouse anyway..." the captain trailed off. He flashed another smile and bounded off without another word of explanation.

Sandra sat down next to Pavel at the dinner. The entire table was abuzz with excited chatter. Everyone congratulated McCoy. Except for Spock. Who exchanged quick words with the doctor before sitting down again next to Lt. Uhura.

She looked around and saw her shipmates without Scotty. She smiled when she saw Silak sitting next to Shelley. The two seemed to be deep in conversation about what was going on. Pavel was chatting animatedly with Sulu. She just sat and observed, grateful for the happy chatter that echoed through her head.

Dinner had gone underway when Kirk stood up and tapped the side of his glass.

"I know we're all here to celebrate the triumph of this afternoon. But we are also here to welcome a new member of our crew." He held up his glass. "To Bones and Jo."

"To McCoys!" cheered the rest of the table. Even Joanna raised her glass of soda in a toast. McCoy himself seemed to revert to his old self, scowling and grumbling and red as to why such a big deal was thrown for him. Sandra laughed, knowing that he was just glad to have Joanna back in his life.

"Along with congratulations, I would like to add something else." Kirk began. Immediately, all eyes turned on him and everyone fell into a hushed silence. He cleared his throat and knelt down next to McCoy's chair. "I already have Joanna's permission." The table waited on baited breath. "Bones...will you marry me?"

McCoy blinked. "What?" he blurted.

Jim looked over nervously at Joanna. "Marry me. You should know what that is. Two people. I do. Drinking. Cake. Bad karaoke." His thumb rubbed the skin on the back of McCoy's hand. "I need you, Bones. Just like you need me."

McCoy was quiet. Sandra could practically see the cogs turning in his head. Kirk looked like he was starting to sweat. Father looked at daughter. Joanna nodded. "Ok." McCoy whispered. He turned back to Kirk. "Ok." he said louder.

Kirk knocked McCoy to the ground with a shout of joy. The entire table erupted in cheers. She felt Pavel squeeze her hand. "Did you know he was going to say yes?"

Sandra smiled mysteriously. "Don't I always know, Pavel?" she whispered back. Immediately, his face turned pink. "Don't worry, I always put your thoughts on mute." She smiled at him. "I only look when deemed necessary."

The party finally faded out and everyone dragged themselves back to the hotel they were staying at. McCoy was hefting a sleepy Joanna while sneaking kisses to Kirk. Christine was giggling and dancing with Sulu in the lobby. Silak and Shelley returned to the embassy for tea. Uhura and Commander Spock decided for a late night walk.

Sandra leaned on Pavel's shoulder as they made their way through the lobby. "It has been an exciting day." he ventured.

She chuckled. "Very exciting. I wonder if Scotty would be able to handle such changes when we return."

"Ah, he is engineer. He will be ok." Pavel replied surely. They approached their rooms and he let them in. She automatically collapsed onto the neatly made bed, kicking her boots off of her feet. He toed off his boots and laid down on his front next to her. "I was so scared that something happened to you." he confessed quietly.

She turned on her side and stared at him. "What're you talking about?"

His blue eyes bore into hers. "The Klingon attack. We put most of the Klingon in the brig. But there were some that were in the medical wing. I was scared they got to you when Miss Joanna answered your communicator."

She placed her hand on his. "Oh Pavel...I was ok. I was in sick bay helping McCoy." She leaned over and kissed him on the forehead.

"Sandy..." His eyes fell on her lips.

"Pavel...I'm practically twice your age." she whispered. "Going out on dates is just fine. Spending time together is just fine." She smiled sadly. "You need someone your age. Someone who can keep up with you."

He hoisted himself up onto an elbow and hovered over her. "Sandy. I decide what courses the ship flies through. I am referred to for calculations when Commander Spock cannot." He ran a hand down her face and leaned down within centimeters of her face. She sighed and closed her eyes, trying to fight against the want. "I complete every challenge I have ever faced. Primary school. Secondary school. University. The Academy. How can you say I do not know what I want?" he asked quietly. He leaned in and kissed her forehead. "I have had girlfriends." He kissed her left eyelid. "I have even tried with boys." He kissed her left eyelid.

Sandra opened her eyes to question him. A smile spread across his face. "Boys?"

He whispered in her ear. "Not that far. But I at least tried." She closed her eyes again and took several deep breaths. "Sandy?" She didn't reply. "Sandy, if you say no, I will respect your decision. But say no if you truly do not want to. Not because you are concerned of my attraction to you." He caressed her hair. "You have taken care of so many, Sandy. Let me take care of you."

"Pavel, you're at least 10 years younger." Sandra tried to strengthen her resolve with reason. "You need--"

"I need _you_, Sandy." he replied vehemently. "I want you. Only you." He dropped a kiss on her cheekbone. "Only you, Sandy."

She breathed heavily, trying to fish through her thoughts. A gasp escaped her lips when his lips ghosted over hers. "Pavel..." she nearly whimpered. What was she arguing again? Her eyes rolled to the back of her head. He smelled wonderful. The muffled stream of Russian thought caressed her mind. The things he was actually saying...No. "I'm your...superior...officer." she panted.

"So is Commander Spock. But Lt. Uhura is still with him." he replied.

"You're a horny kid."

"You're a horny woman." he replied easily. She glared at him. "Women in their thirties and forties were studied extensively in the 21st century. Since Betazoid biology is similar, it is safe to assume it applies to you." He kissed along the neckline of her collar. "And I have another reason."

She bit her tongue to swallow her whimper. "Yeah, and what's that?"

He moved back up to her ear. "Ye tebya lyubov, Sandy." Those lips grazed against her ear and pressed chaste kisses down her neck. "I love you. And I want to show it. I want you to know." His tongue licked below her ear.

"You're not worried I don't love you back?" she gasped. He paused in his ministrations and looked deep into her eyes. "It's my understanding that humans don't love at the same time in the beginning. There's a fear of not being loved."

"I felt it when I came into your office right after I was cleared from medical bay." He began to kiss down the other side of her neck. "You threw your arms around me and held me tight and that was when I knew." He kissed along her ear. "You do not need to say it because I know." He looked at her again. "If I am wrong, then tell me. Stop me from embarrassing myself this way."

Words died on her lips. He was there. He had been there since her arrival. There when she pushed herself too far. There to sit under the stars on the observation deck. When she fell through that rock slide. Her hands were already fisted his shirt. Her fingers ran over the gold Starfleet insignia. Her hands reached for the zip of the dress uniform's top. "Ok."

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow will be when they discuss the repercussions of this.

But for now...as his smooth skin was exposed to her...they will have this.


	11. Chapter 11

The sun rose over the horizon for a new day. But Sandra was awake before the dawn actually broke over the sky. A few inches away from her was a face that looked even more young and innocent in sleep. She wanted to reach out and stroke his face, play with his curls. He was so childlike. And yet...the events of last night proved that he was not a child at all. Was it worth it? Her dark eyes raked over his slumbering form. Was it really worth the risk to be involved with someone like this? Her parents had warned her once that Earth men may not be capable of being compatible with a Betazoid. Xenophiles, they said. In high school, she learned that they were right. Boys fawned over the mere fact that she was a Betazoid; something alien and cool to experiment with. Would Pavel be the same?

She gave into her urge to play with a curl. He moaned softly at the touch and leaned into her hand, trying to snuggle further towards her. Sandra watched as he kept scooting until he comfortably wrapped his arms around her and brought her to his chest. Pavel let out a contented sigh and an impish smile played across those rose lips. Her eyes narrowed. He was either feigning sleep or just didn't want to get up yet.

"I'm older than you." she croaked.

"I know." he replied.

"And your superior."

"Only if I were in sciences."

She paused. Every argument, he would have an answer. Every turn, he would stop her. "Pavel, I'm old enough for my tits to sag to the floor."

His chest bounced her head as he chuckled. "So I will hold them up for you." he whispered in her ear. Those hands reached up to cup and mold said body part.

"Pavel, I'm serious. What is this? What is it going to be?" She sat up and wrapped the sheet around herself, pulling away from those warm arms and strong hands. "Is it to satisfy a teenage bucket list? Bang a cougar? A Betazoid?"

There was a long pause. Pavel's eyes slowly opened and focused on her. "I am 20 years old." he started slowly. "In the past 3 years alone, I have faced more than so many others my age. The keptin...he always try to set me up. He say, 'Here, Chekov! Enjoy your first night!' or 'Chekov, it's about time you lost your virginity!' or something. The doctor...he always call me kid. I can be 50 and he will call me kid. And that is ok." He raised himself up and sat behind her, wrapping his arms around her again. "Do you not believe I know love? Have I not proven it to you last night?" There shouldn't be such a sense of assurance from being squeezed tightly. "This will be whatever we want it to be. If you want it to be just physical, is ok. I will love you in spirit. If you want it not physical, is ok. I will still love you in spirit." He leaned in close again. "Though you would need to excuse me periodically to take care of physical needs." He nuzzled her neck. "I do not want you because you are Betazoid. You can be Andorian or Klingon. And I will still love you. Though with Klingon, it may be difficult."

"I--"

"Sandra, we shared a beautiful night. Look me in the eyes and tell me that you do not love me. Tell me you want to stop this and we will remain friends." Pavel insisted.

Sandra turned in his arms. Those big, blue eyes stared back at her in determination...hope? Her gaze fell to his lips, his cheekbones, his nose. Everything was pale and flawless. She couldn't. He was just a boy. _But last night, he proved to be a man in every way._ The face spoke of childhood. _But the body and heart spoke of adulthood and love. _Breaking protocol. _It's ignored anyway. _Fear of being hurt._ This is worth the risk._ Her tongue darted out to wet her own lips. "Pavel..." She looked into his eyes again. Those damn eyes that spoke volumes at any given moment. Now, they promised to keep her safe, to never hurt her, to love her unconditionally. "No...I don't want to stop." Something bubbled within her. She leaned forward and covered his face with kisses, her fingers threading through those curls. "I don't want to stop." she repeated. "I don't ever want to stop."

"Yamayo." he breathed. Pavel pulled her into his arms again and collapsed onto the bed. "And now, we sleep."

"Sleep?"

"Yes. It is shore leave. And I want to enjoy sleeping in with the woman I love." He grinned cheekily at her. She let out a surprised bark of laughter then he threw the white cotton sheets over them. "Ya tebya lyubov." he whispered, snuggling against her.

Sandra stared as he settled into sleep again. Perhaps...just maybe this would all work out. She snuggled back and could swear that the buzz of Russian words in her head accelerated. As sleep and mental exhaustion came, she decided...maybe it would work.

However, their nap was interrupted by the loud ring of the communication line. Sandra grunted. "Pavel, could you answer that?"

"Nyet." came the muffled reply from behind her.

"What about doing all that stuff for me?"

"Answering communications are not included." Sandra rolled her eyes when she felt him grin against her back. The sun was shining through the blinds, telling them it was some time in the afternoon. He drew her close. "Maybe if we don't answer, it will go away." Eventually, the ringing stopped. "See?" To only be replaced by frantic knocking on her door. Pavel cursed and buried them both under pillows and blankets.

Sandra chuckled and reached for a robe. "It could be the captain, Pavel. With some world shattering adventure or something." Throwing on the robe, she shuffled over the beige carpet. "Computer, who's at the door?"

"Captain Kirk, James T." replied the automated voice.

The doors slid open to reveal a very frantic looking James T. Kirk. "Captain? Is there something wrong?"

"I can't find Bones. I also can't Lt. Young. But mostly I can't find Bones." The blonde barged in and began to pace. "I was going to surprise him with breakfast and lunch but I can't find him. Jo's freaking out because she hasn't seen him today at all either." He continued to pace. "You think it was too soon with the proposal? I knew it was too soon. Damnit. I should've waited."

Sandra sighed. "Pavel, we better get dressed. You stay with the captain and see if you can get in touch with Lt. Young. I'm gonna go find Doctor McCoy." She held one of the sheets around her and threw a glare at their captain. Her hands rooted through the suitcase to grab an Academy t-shirt and jeans before heading into the bathroom to change.

"Chekov, why the hell are you naked? And what are you doing in Dr. Linh's room?" came the muffled question a few seconds later.

She breezed past the captain and dropped a kiss on Pavel's cheek before leaving. "Ok...if I were Leonard...where would I be?" With her answer, she walked off in the direction of the Golden Gate Bridge.

And, as expected, he was sitting on a bunch in the park that faced the bridge. Thankfully, there was no paper bag or bottle nearby. The fog had long disappeared to another sunny day in San Fransisco with the bridge gleaming in the distance. Leonard, however, was staring at the bridge as if the twist of metal held all the answers in the world. She sighed and sat down next to him.

_What if it's like with Jocelyn? He's going to leave me like she did. Realize that I'm a crap husband. Damn. I am a crap husband. And I'm not even married yet. I'm gonna screw this up. Damnit. Damnit. Damnit. Damnit._

"Something on your mind, Leonard?" she asked, breaking the turned and glared at her. She tsked. He didn't bother to shave or comb his hair for the day. He glared at her still.

_You already know what's on my damn mind, why the hell do you even bother to ask?_

"Courtesy." she replied out loud, leaning back. "How long have you two been together?"

"Friends with benefits." he grumbled. "Through the Academy. Then exclusively after he got the damn ship." She watched him carefully. Leonard crossed his arms and seemed to curl into himself. Most of his thoughts were along the same vein as earlier: _Damnit, Jim. I'm not a good husband. Why the hell did you ask me to...?_

They watched as birds flew through the skies with Leonard seething and herself reflecting. "He's not your ex wife." Sandra finally said.

He snorted. "I'm pretty sure I know that."

"Then get the damn picture of Jocelyn out of your head when you imagine matrimony with him." she replied simply. He glared at her. "Think about it. You think matrimony, you see Jocelyn. Are you marrying Jocelyn?"

He sighed. "No." He ran a hand through his hair. "Damnit. I just don't want to screw it up again."

"You won't. Your relationship with the captain is deeper than most couples are in their first 20 years of marriage. Like all those times you were in arranging the Aviophobia meetings and he came by to pick you up afterward for drinks?" She smiled at the memory.

His eyes widened. "You remember that? Dr. Hagaard was in charge of that!"

"Yes, he was. But I was still running clinic hours there. I would always see him waiting in the waiting room for you, fiddling with everything or flirting with the secretary." Sandra grinned. "Then he just becomes a ray of sunshine when he sees you." Leonard was silent for a few minutes. "He tore up my freakin hotel room looking for you."

The corner of his lip twitched. "Yeah?"

"Oh yeah. Had to er...cover a few things to be sure he didn't see anything." Sandra coughed to cover the blush. Leonard raised an eyebrow. "We should head back." She stood up. "Come on, doc."

He grunted, rubbed his eyes and stood up. "I guess I could use some food. And we don't need Jim frettin' over me more than he usually does."


End file.
